When the Cradle Falls
Chapter Forty-One: Return to Sender
A fractal of sunlight, broken up by the back window was what woke Noah up. The heat on his face jarred him. He went to move into a sitting position, but realized he was already propped up. Opening his eyes, he noticed he was wrapped in a quilt from Cara's bed, in the backseat of the car. Looking over to his left, he saw Cara, also wrapped in a blanket. She was awake, and staring at the back of the driver's seat.
Dazed, Noah looked out the window once again and saw nothing but trees on either side of them.
"Mom?" Noah asked. "Where are we?"
Glancing at him in the rearview mirror, Alice acknowledged him. "Somewhere in Minnesota right now."
"Why? Where are we going?"
"I haven't decided yet," she offered vaguely.
"But why?"
"I decided we needed a little trip for a while. Forget about school and work." And demons, most importantly.
"Are we going on a hunt?"
"No. Just a vacation."
"Are we gonna meet Dad?"
"Maybe in a little bit. I thought it would be fun if it was just the three of us for a while."
Noah nodded slowly. The whole thing seemed a bit weird, but he knew that Mom and Cara could both use a break. The last incident with the demons a few days ago really freaked her out. And Cara was still in a weird funk of barely talking.
So maybe she was right, maybe they did need a break for a bit.
"Can we stop for breakfast soon? I'm starving."
Alice nodded. "That's a good idea. If you see something you like, just shout it out. And how about you, Cara? Are you hungry too?"
"Yeah."
Noah sent his sister a concerned look. She didn't look like she was listening at all, just zoning out. But apparently she still heard what was going on, just didn't feel like participating in the conversation it seemed.
"I could go for some waffles. How about you Cara?" Waffles were Cara's favorite, and the older sister knew Noah didn't particularly care for them.
"Yeah."
Demoralized by her lack of a response, Noah sighed and looked out the window, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling that was growing in the pit of his stomach. So long as he wasn't hearing anything, everything was fine.
That was what he told himself.
Everything was fine.
It was the same shit, just a different day.
Sam and Dean had just finished a hunt—den of werewolves. Both of them were covered in spatters of blood from that of a victim that had her chest ripped open by claws.
The blood was just a reminder of another person they couldn't save.
The hunt had completely taken over the last four days of their lives. In that time, Dean had probably gotten a total of six hours of sleep, and had upwards of thirty beers. They had just pulled into the particularly crappy motel they were staying at. The inside of the Impala was gonna need a complete interior detailing. Their clothing had gotten blood all over the front seat.
"I call shower first," Sam announced as they dropped all their shit by the front door. Dean locked it and lined it with a line of salt.
"Of course you do," Dean muttered. Reaching into the mini fridge he pulled out a beer. Removing the bloodied jacket and flannel so that he was only wearing a moderately stained t-shirt, Dean flopped down on the uncomfortable couch, beer in one hand.
He turned on the TV to some crappy procedural cop show. A few minutes later, the water from the shower started to run. Dean turned up the volume on the TV.
He half-watched the show for a few minutes, letting his mind wander. Slowly, his gaze drifted from the TV to the nightstand where his cell phone was perched. Frowning at it, Dean slowly straightened up.
Moving over to the nightstand, he stared at the phone, as if expecting it to start ringing. When it didn't, Dean opened it, going through his chat and call log. There were no missed calls, voicemails, or unread texts, an unusual sign that everything was calm.
Scrolling through his texts, he found his conversation with Alice. Clicking on that, he looked at the most recent text. He had sent it to her this morning, before their hunt. Starting to look through all the texts from the previous week, he realized that all of them were sent from him to her. There were none from her.
Next, Dean checked his call log. The last time he had called her was after the fiasco at Jan's with the demons. He had called that next day to make sure she and the kids had gotten home safe.
Pressing her name, the phone lit up as if began to call her. It rang several times before a jarring voice spoke on the other end. "I'm sorry, the wireless customer you are calling right now is unavailable."
"The hell?" Dean muttered, his worry effectively mounting.
Moving quickly to his duffel bag, Dean rifled through his other cell phones and saw that he had no texts are calls from Alice. Checking the phones in the glove compartment of the Impala yielded no answers to his questions.
Coming back into the motel room, Dean started to dial Cara's number, only to stop when he remembered that her phone had been broken by one of the demons.
"Shit," Dean muttered to himself.
"Uhh everything okay?" Sam asked, emerging from the bathroom, toweling off his wet hair.
Standing in the middle of the room, Dean looked around, as if trying to figure out what to do. "Not sure. Have you heard from Alice or the kids since the whole incident at Jan's?"
The younger brother thought for a minute. "You know what, now that you actually say that, no I don't think I have."
"Yeah. Neither have and. And listen to what happens when I call her phone." Dean called Alice's number and put it on speaker. The automated message played again.
"That's weird," Sam commented, setting the towel down on a chair.
"Yeah no shit. I haven't called her in a week. And I've had my head so far up my ass I didn't even notice she never responded to any of my messages."
"Dean, we've been busy with the hunt. I'm sure everything is fine."
"I don't know, man. Something isn't right about this. I mean what does a message like that even mean?"
Sam shrugged. "I could mean a lot of different things. Maybe she's somewhere with no service. Maybe the SIM card broke."
Dean stopped. "So you're saying something could've happened to the SIM card?" From his experience, phones didn't have a problem with SIM cards unless the user wanted there to be a problem.
"Maybe. I'm not sure. Look, why don't you call the landline?"
"I did. Straight to voicemail."
Nodding, Sam ran a hand through his damp hair. "Well, look, there's not really anything we can do tonight. Why don't we grab a few hours of sleep and try to call her again in the morning? If she doesn't answer, then we can head over there and take a look?"
"We're a day's out from Illinois, Sam. If we leave tomorrow morning, we're not gonna get there until late tomorrow night."
"I'm just saying let's take a few hours. When was the last time you slept for more than two hours?"
Ignoring him, Dean was already punching another number into his phone.
"Who are you calling now?" Sam asked in exasperation.
"Bobby." Dean brushed past his brother.
The old man picked up after a few rings. "Whoever this is better have a damn good reason for calling me so late."
"It's Dean."
"What do you want, boy? It's late and I'm an old man."
Normally Dean would've jabbed at Bobby for admitting he was old. "When was the last time you heard from either Alice or the kids?"
"I haven't seen them since Chicago. Why?"
"I haven't heard from them about the same time. I can't get in contact with Alice. She won't answer any of my messages or calls."
"Ever cross your mind that she's ignoring you?"
"I—why?"
"Well, to me it sounds like you two didn't leave on quite the best of terms last time."
"We didn't fight, if that's what you're saying."
"No I didn't say that. I'm just saying it seemed a little tense between you two." Dean supposed that was true, but he also knew Alice was never one to ice him out.
"She wouldn't just not call. And that's not all. Her cell phone doesn't even go to voicemail. It says the number is disconnected."
"Did she maybe get a new number without telling you?"
"I'm telling you she wouldn't do that, Bobby!"
A sigh came from the other end. "Okay. Well, what do you want me to do?"
"I guess just let me know if you hear from any of them."
"You know I will you idjit. Everything will be okay, alright?"
"Alright. Talk to you later."
"Well?" Sam asked once Dean hung up.
He shook his head. "Hasn't heard from her. Said he'd let me know if he hears anything."
"See? What did I tell you…who are you calling now?"
"Maybe she's working. I'm calling her work."
"Dean are you kidding me? She's a grown woman."
"Shut up, Sam."
Sam rolled his eyes and arranged his features into his classic bitch face.
Upon seeing that, Dean turned his back to his brother.
The secretary to the unit Alice was finally on picked up the phone.
"Do you know if Alice Mercer is working tonight?" Dean asked without preamble.
There was silence on the other end. "Umm, I'm gonna put you on hold."
"Great thanks." Dean didn't think his answer was too complicated.
A few long minutes passed, listening to the sound of nauseating elevator music, when another voice finally came on. "This is Amata."
Dean had heard Alice talk about Amata before. She was the nursing supervisor of the unit and Alice's boss. "Hi, I just wanted to know if Alice Mercer is working tonight."
There was a pause. "Can I ask who I'm speaking to?"
"Sure…yeah. My name is Dean Winchester. I'm the uh the father of Alice's children."
There was another pause. "Dean, you said?"
"Yeah."
"Dean I'm sorry but Alice hasn't worked here for almost two weeks. I let her go."
"Wait you fired her?"
"Yes, I thought it was best if the hospital and she parted ways."
"And when did you say this was?"
"A few weeks back? She said something came up with your son at school? That's all I know, I'm sorry. Look, I really have to be going."
"Yeah thanks bye."
The line went dead, and the phone almost fell out of his hands.
"Dean?"
"She got fired."
"What was that?" Sam asked.
"She doesn't work at the hospital. Not since you and Noah were possessed."
Sam frowned. "That's strange. Didn't she say she had to work a lot this week?"
Dean nodded, beginning to freak out even more. "Yeah, she sure as hell did."
"Maybe she was just embarrassed to tell you?"
"Something is going on." Like a tornado, Dean began to move around the room in a fury.
"What are you doing?" Sam demanded.
"Going to Illinois. Something is wrong."
In disbelief, Sam raised his arms. "You're gonna drive twenty hours on no sleep and covered in blood?"
"Sounds about right."
"Dean, at least take a shower, man."
"Every second that I'm not driving there is a second something bad could happen. Look, I'm leaving. You are welcome to stay in this shithole of a town, or you can come with. Your choice. But you have about thirty seconds to decide."
When Dean got like this, Sam knew there was no reasoning with him or slowing him down. Sam also knew Dean would leave his ass like he promised. "Alright, I'm coming. Just at least let me drive for part of the way."
It was too late, Sam already heard the roar of the Impala.
He bumped his head at the sound of his phone ringing at full volume.
"Shit," Seth muttered, rubbing his head.
"Could you please shut that off?" Said a groggy voice from next to him.
Reaching over the naked blonde that was passed out beside him, he grabbed his phone and saw an unknown number. If there was one thing he knew, it was always to answer, no matter who was calling and when.
Sitting up, Seth pressed talk. "Hello?" he asked quietly, trying not to disturb his sleeping mate.
"This is Dean Winchester."
It took Seth a minute to remember Dean was Cara and Noah's dad and Alice's not-boyfriend. "How did you get this number?"
"Doesn't matter. Look, I have a big favor to ask of you."
"Yeah and what would that be?" Seth's voice was dripping with sarcasm. He didn't know who the hell this guy thought he was.
"I need you to drive to Batavia and check on Alice. I haven't been able to get in contact with her and I'm starting to get worried."
"You fucking serious?"
"Jesus Christ if you have another booty call, please just leave," The blonde muttered, swatting a hand at him.
Pulling on his boxers, Seth exited the bedroom, grabbing his jeans and shirt as he went.
"Yes, Seth. I am serious."
"You realize I live two hours away from her and it's the middle of the night."
"You're the closest to her. I'm still like eighteen hours away so I'm not gonna be there for a day and a half."
"Can't this wait till the morning?"
"You think if it could, I would be calling you right now?"
"Fair point," Seth grunted.
"Seth, please. Look, I know I have no right to ask you of anything, but do it for Alice and the kids. Please. I will owe you big time if you do this for me, man."
"Ugh fine. Fucking fine. I'll go check on her."
"Thank you. If you get a hold of her, tell her to fucking call me."
"Will do. And Winchester?"
"What?"
"A favor you can do for me is to never call me in the middle of the fucking night again."
"Will do, Sutton."
Sure enough, a few hours later, Seth was pulling up to Alice's slice of suburban paradise. He noted nothing looked awry as he exited the car.
Reaching the front door, he noticed there were no lights on—but why would there be? It's the middle of the night. Ringing the doorbell and knocking simultaneously, Seth kept it up for a full minute. He was prepared to ream her out for making him drive all the way out here in the middle of the night, and was fully expecting to crash on her couch for a few hours.
However, at that solid minute of incessant ringing and banging, Seth began to wonder if something really was wrong.
The door was unlocked, so he used a Swiss army knife that he kept on his keychain to shimmy the door open.
Once he stepped inside, he turned on the front hall light. "Alice?" He called loudly. "Alice? It's Seth. Are you here?"
Only the echo of his call dispersing throughout the house was heard. Following the reverberations of his voice, Seth checked every inch of the house. Not only were there no sign of anyone there, there was also no sign that anything was wrong.
There was no sulfur or any sign of supernatural interference—that was a good thing.
But also, where did that leave Seth? He really didn't want to call Dean and tell him the news of nothing.
To take off the edge of having to do that, Seth rummaged through a few cabinets, eventually landing on the one above the fridge. He rifled through a few bottles of alcohol, eventually settling on a pretty full bottle of Captain Morgan. Not his favorite, but it would do the trick.
Near the sink, Seth blindly flicked on a switch, hoping that it would control the pilot light nearby.
Hitting the switch, instead of a light turning on, a terrible grating sound filled the space.
Quickly realizing he had hit the garbage disposal, Seth reached for the switch, but stopped when he noticed how strange the appliance sounded.
Rummaging around for a flashlight, Seth went back to investigate the strange noise. He squinted when the light was shined down, trying to identifying what the hell he was looking at. Steadying the light by anchoring his arm against the base of the counter, Seth bent down and reached into the disposal, using a nearby spatula.
Little plastic pieces were removed from the disposal, Seth quickly recognizing them as crushed up parts of a cell phone. The silver remnants were pieces of Alice's phone.
"Son of a bitch; he was right," Seth muttered about Dean.
Taking a swig straight from the bottle, Seth felt his body warming at the familiar fire beginning in his throat. Once the warmth had spread to his extremities, he plucked up the will to phone Dean.
Surprisingly the phone rang several times before Dean picked up.
"This is Sam," announced the voice on the other end.
"Where's Dean?" Seth asked.
"Sleeping. Finally convinced him to crash for a few hours. Is she there?"
"No, man. There's no sign of them. There's no sulfur or anything like that."
There was a notable sigh from Sam's end. "Well that's good…isn't it?"
"I thought so. That was until I found up her cut up credit cards and smashed cell phone."
"And you're sure they're hers?"
"Unless the kids have a secret credit card no one knows about, yeah. The phone is definitely Alice's. It's the little silver one?"
"Yeah. I've seen that."
"I know your brother's not gonna wanna hear this, Sam, but there's nothing supernatural here. I mean all the doors were locked, lights off, car gone. It looks like she just up and left."
While trying to reason with his brother that everything was fine, Sam hadn't thought that there was anything wrong. Especially after the number was disconnected. And upon hearing the state of the house, and Alice's car being gone, odds were mounting that she was avoiding Dean.
"Did you know she got fired from her job?"
"No, I didn't know that."
"Neither did I. Not until Dean called tonight and found out she doesn't work at the hospital anymore."
Seth took another swig of the rum. "That's a bit strange."
"Yeah…that's why we're coming out there. Look, thanks for driving out there. I know my brother can be hardheaded and a bit of a jerk—"
"A bit, huh?"
"Yeah okay—a big ass—but I appreciate you taking the time to drive all the way down there."
Seth scoffed internally at that. Not only had he driven two hours in the dead of night, he had been cuddled up next to a knock out, ready to go another round with a model. However, he didn't say any of that. "Yeah, sure. Since I'm here, I'm gonna catch a few hours on the couch, see if she shows up."
"Yeah man, no problem. We'll be there as soon as we can."
Alone in the house, Seth took a seat at the counter, slowly turning the bottle over and over in his hands. It felt strange to be in such a big house all by himself.
As if having a vision, Seth saw a lanky, teenage version of himself. The teenage Seth stood across from the counter. He had shaggy, dark hair, heavily eye lined eyes, and an unfortunate lip piercing. Teenage Seth wore ratty corduroys and an oversized black sweatshirt, hood pulled up.
Adult Seth took another swig of alcohol as his younger counterpart grabbed piece of paper—a bus ticket—that had been sitting on the counter in front of him.
He remembered this night. It was the night Seth had left home and never returned.
Armed with only a guitar case and a backpack, the teenager had left in the middle of the night—he couldn't exactly remember where his mother and heavily pregnant cousin were. Not that it mattered. They never cared where he was and he didn't care where they were.
It wasn't that he was upset his cousin was there—he was actually glad. It his mother something do to other than get on his case. With both of his sisters out of the house, disappointing his mother had been his main purpose.
He knew it had something to do with the fact he could never live up to his dad.
Jerking from how raw the feelings felt, Seth stood back from the counter, hand wrapped around the neck of the bottle. He moved onto the back and plopped onto a patio chair, still reeling from the powerful surge of memories.
There was a part of him that could understand Alice leaving without a word. He knew that feeling of being so alone and constrained at the same time that you just had to get away. There was almost an instinctual need to get away.
But there was one thing that was bothering him. The fact that as soon as someone noticed Alice was gone, they were trying to find her.
When he had gone as a teenager, he knew his mother could've tracked him down, even if he had gone to Mars.
The sting was that she never tried to find him.
"Once again, Alice, you got everything that I never had," Seth muttered bitterly, to the wind.
His parents and siblings hadn't been a real family in probably close to fifteen years—when Dad died. And that tragedy was compounded the shit show of Olivia stealing her sister's husband and niece's father. That was a real sucker punch for all of them.
The only halfway decent thing to come out of that was the fact Seth and Piper had become closer, brought together by a thin string of bitterness for their parents and disdain for their "perfect", hypocritical sister.
And Merrill.
Seth was scared where her road ended. Based on circumstances alone, that girl was on the fast track to a fucked up adulthood. Seth didn't consider himself the most well-adjusted adult, but he had an apartment, was—somewhat—employed, and made his own money. That didn't seem like much of a baseline, but compared to the transient life of a hunter, it was something.
And considering how contrarian and hard-headed Merrill was, pairing that with her shitty parentage was an alarming combination.
Realizing there was nothing he could do about it, Seth contemplated calling Piper. He was wide awake, after being jarred from rest so forcefully. Surprisingly, the drive coupled with a few swigs of rum, he felt everything was bit clearer. However, he wasn't going to be an asshole like some others, and we would let her sleep.
So that's where he sat, bottle propped up on one of the armrests, staring off into one of the neighbor's backyards.
Dean was out of his mind.
They had been at Alice's for about half a day. So far, there had been no clue as to where they were going. The only thing they had was that one of her neighbors had seen her car pull out of the driveway late the night before.
That was all.
He had searched every inch of the house. Every drawer, floorboard, and corner had been checked. As reiterated by Sam and Seth, Dean found no traces of anything supernatural. Still, he refused to accept that Alice had left the house of her own volition.
"I'm telling you. It's a shapeshifter or even a ghoul—"
Not even bothering to try and argue anymore, Sam distantly listened to his brother, while staring at an empty search page on his laptop screen. He didn't know what else to search. There were no traces of Alice or the kids in any morgues, hospitals, or police records—a good thing. There wasn't any available information about cars spotted with her license plates. With no idea of which direction Alice could've even gone, Sam couldn't even begin to try to hack into traffic or gas station CCTV, or try to call motels asking for information. Trying to find a specific white car in the continental United States was going to be a pretty difficult feat, even for the Winchester brothers.
"We need to call the police."
Finally, Sam turned his attention from the laptop to his brother. "You wanna call the police?"
"They have access to resources we don't have, Sam. They might be able to at least give us a direction on where to look."
"There's a small problem with that. You're wanted for murder, so if you go traipsing into a police station, you think they're just gonna let you go?" Sam asked, referring to the shapeshifting case that had worked ages ago. It ended with Dean taking the fall for a string of deaths.
"Not if we send him." Dean pointed over to Seth.
Realizing Dean was addressing him, Seth tuned in from staring at the wall. "Me? You want me to go to the cops?" Even though it had been years since he hunted formally, Seth still didn't trust the boys in blue any more than any seasoned hunter should. It was just instinct. "And did I hear that right? You're wanted for murder?"
"Yeah thanks to a shifter. Are you a wanted felon, Seth?"
He shifted uncomfortably. "No. But…I am in the system."
"What for?" Dean almost growled. He wasn't going to let this little punk ruin their only current shot at finding Alice.
"A few times for possession, indecent exposure—"
"Ugh dude I don't wanna hear it—"
"Look it was night and I didn't think the cops were gonna bust a couple teenagers for skinny dipping in Lake Michigan—"
"Seth shut up. No one gives a shit that you smoke weed or decided to get freaky on a beach. But they are gonna care if I rock up with a murder charge. So suck it up and get your ass down to the station and report Alice, Cara, and Noah missing."
Standing up sullenly, Seth took several wooden steps towards Dean. "You know, you don't have to be such a dick about it."
Rolling his eyes, Dean shoulder-checked the man. "I don't give a shit how you feel. Something happened to them, so you better get your ass down to the police station."
It took a lot for Seth to get angry, but being pushed around by Dean was really starting to make his blood boil. "And you wonder why she'd wanna leave, asshole."
There was silence in the kitchen. Blending in with the scenery, Sam held his breath, calculating how far the two of them were going to push it.
"What was that?" Dean's voice was calm and level. That was a telltale sign he was about to lose his shit.
Gaining a little more bravado, Seth stood up straighter. "I said no wonder she fucking took the kids and left. You're a fucking psycho, Winchester."
Spinning around quickly, Dean grabbed Seth by his t-shirt and slammed him back into the wall. "You better watch what you say to me man, you really don't wanna see me pissed off"
As he had suspected, Dean Winchester was fucking insane. "Maybe you should take your head out of your ass and listen to what your brother and I have been telling you nonstop. She left, dude. Plan and simple. She took the kids and she fucking left without a word. My guess is that she didn't tell you cause she doesn't want you to know where she is."
Seeing Dean's eyes darken, Sam was up, using all of his strength to pull Dean away from Seth, when he saw his brother pull on of his hands away and clench it into a fist. "Enough you two! Enough. Dean get back." Sam forcefully shoved Dean in the kitchen. "Calm down. Both of you. None of this is gonna help up find Alice and the kids."
Shaking his head, Seth stepped up from the wall and roughly straightened out his shirt. "You know what? Fuck this. If my cousin doesn't wanna be found, then that's on her. I'm not wasting my time with this shit anymore."
"What? Seth come on. Look, Dean didn't mean it—"
"Save it Sam. I've had enough." Turning, Seth jingled his keys over his head, as he exited the kitchen. A few seconds later, the door slammed roughly, shaking the whole house.
When it was just the two brothers alone in the house, Sam contemplated giving Dean an equivalent of an "I-told-you-so" but knew the chances of him ending up with a black eye were as high as Seth's before he pulled the pair apart.
Instead, Sam sat back at his computer without a word, letting Dean pace around like a caged animal.
The moments of silence gave Dean a chance to gain a sliver of rationality. "What? No bitchy comments for me?" He was still ready to fight someone.
The younger brother took a deep breath. "What is that gonna accomplish other than rile you up?"
Maybe the question was meant to be rhetorical, but Dean actually stopped and took a second to think about what his answer would be. Their chance of contacting the police was shot to hell because he couldn't control his temper. All it was was worry dressed up in anger and a loss of control.
Dean asked the question quietly. "What if she really did just leave?"
Slowly collapsing the lid of his laptop, Sam observed his brother. Through the anger and frantic energy, a visage of anxiety and exhaustion was starting to appear, like a message that had been hidden. It was a rare moment of vulnerability Sam didn't often see.
"If she did, then I'm sure she had a reason." Sam placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "We'll find her. We will."
"This is like Dad all over again," Dean replied, hollowly.
Sam retracted his hand at the mention of his father. All he could think about was how John had told Dean he might have to kill Sam. What the hell did that mean?
"It's not like Dad," Sam replied forcefully. "This has nothing to do with him."
"I hope you're right, Sammy. I hope you're right."
Noah thought he was going to lose his mind from boredom. His mom had still not given them a solid answer of where they were going. And when he suggested they go to the ocean, she willfully ignored him.
It was dark by the time Noah finally convinced Alice to stop for dinner. They had been in the car for over a day, and he didn't understand how his mom wasn't exhausted from driving non-stop. He had already taken several lengthy naps, sometimes waking up to Cara awake and mute, or asleep and mute. What bothered him even more is that Mom didn't seem to be concerned that Cara was still acting weird. It felt like Cara wasn't even there with them. She was supposed to be the skeptical one, the one who asked a million questions, and noticed things that didn't even cross Noah's mind.
The diner they pulled up to was next to a two-pump gas station. The two buildings shared a dusty lot with no defined parking spots.
"Let's eat quick. I wanna get back on the road," Alice said, grabbing her purse that in the seat beside her. Cara hadn't battled for the front seat like she normally would, and Noah felt weird sitting up there with his mom. The longer they were in the car, the more distant she became, the shorter her responses to him. Now, she was really only talking when he asked her a question.
Noah exited the car, slamming the door behind himself. Going around to the other side, he opened the door for his sister. "Come on, Cara," he instructed tiredly.
Wordlessly, she listened and climbed out of the car.
When the trio made their way into the restaurant, Noah followed Cara onto one side of the booth, across from their mother. She poured over the menu in silence.
"What do you think you're gonna get? Mom?"
"Just some coffee, I think."
They sat in silence more. Alice ordered a pot of coffee, Noah ordered himself and Cara a stack of pancakes each, even though she was probably only going to eat half of it.
Sipping his chocolate milk, Noah looked around the diner. Through the window to the kitchen, he could see the red hat of the cook bobbing around to some heavy metal music. The waitress was an old lady with curly blonde hair and a wart at the end of her chin. She smelled smoky. The only other person there was a truck driver hunched over the counter. Noah wondered if he was sleeping.
"Mom, when are we gonna stop?"
"I don't know, Noah."
"We've been in the car all day. I'm tired, so is Cara. You've been driving all day—"
"We'll stop soon."
"But when? You haven't told me anything all day! I still don't know where we're going or when we're gonna call Dad—"
"I told you I don't know where we're going yet."
"Then why does it matter if we stop? I wanna sleep in a real bed and not the car."
The space between Alice's eyebrows pinched as she took a long swig of her coffee.
"Mom."
"What?"
"When are we gonna stop? I'm tired."
"Noah I told you—"
Noah interrupted her, voice rising. "You didn't tell me anything! Where are we going? When are we gonna stop? And I wanna call Dad!"
Slamming down her coffee mad Noah stop, and stare at his mother with wide eyes. "That's enough Noah. I don't wanna hear another word out of you. The only reason I want you to open your mouth is to put pancakes in it. So be quiet and eat your food."
Now that wasn't the first time Alice had snapped at Noah, but it was certainly the first time it felt like she slapped him across the face with her words. And this time, there was something different about her when she said those words.
He wasn't exactly sure, but there was something about her face. There was a kind of slack effect, like she somewhere far away.
Frowning, Noah looked down at the condiment tray. Reaching towards the syrup, he overshot and knocked over the salt. It tipped over, a few grains sprinkling onto Alice's hand.
He watched her reaction. The only response he got was her whisper-yelling at him, and her scooping the salt onto her hand and flinging it into a used napkin nearby.
"Christo," Noah muttered under his breath.
Again, there was no response.
Slamming her hands onto the table this time, Alice was the one to raise her voice. "What did I say Noah?!"
The other occupants of the diner stopped for a moment and stared at the family.
Taking that opportunity, Noah stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."
He left the table and slammed the door behind himself.
In the bathroom, Noah turned on the sink and just watched the water run. There was definitely something wrong with Mom. The salt didn't work and saying the name of God didn't either. He had seen her rub holy water on the door handles of the car when she was getting gas earlier. And she had definitely grabbed the silver knife she kept in the center console when she went to get them snacks at the same gas station.
Noah needed to call his dad.
Turning off the water, Noah exited the bathroom, seeing that Mom was up paying at the register. She had her purse beside her. He knew her phone was in there. The payphone in the restaurant was located behind the counter, and he knew there was no way he could use it without Mom seeing.
Noah slid in the booth across from Cara. He really needed her to talk to him, let him know that something was actually wrong with their mother, and that he wasn't imagining things.
"Look, I don't know what that demon said to you, but Cara, I really really wish you would talk to me. I know whatever it was was bad I wanna help you but I can't do that unless you tell me what's going on with you." He watched her hopefully for several seconds.
When she continued to look down, still cutting her pancake into tiny squares, Noah sighed in defeat and reached for his half drank chocolate milk. He put it to his lips, about to take a sip, when he felt a hand around his wrist.
Pulling the cup away, he saw Cara's hand wound around his wrist.
"Don't drink that."
"Huh?" He couldn't believe Cara had actually said something to him. Sure her gaze was unfocused, like she was looking anywhere but him, but she was undoubtedly talking to him.
"Don't drink it."
"Why not?" Noah asked carefully, swirling the glass, and looking down into the drink.
"Just don't. Mom put something in it. Don't drink it," she said again.
Electrified, Noah put the beverage down. He had been right.
"Cara, we need to call Dad. Something is wrong with Mom."
Not responding, Cara grabbed the abandoned chocolate milk and began to chug it. There was only a small sip left by the time Noah snatched it from her hand.
"Why would you do that?! You said not to drink it!"
Cara gulped the rest of the drink down loudly. "It'll just make me sleep."
"What does that mean? Cara?"
"It was a pill to make you sleep."
"A pill to make you—" Noah suddenly remembered how weird he felt after drinking the hot chocolate.
"You have to sleep. Mom thinks you're gonna sleep," Cara said as Alice began to approach with her purse.
When their mother reached the table, Noah yawned in exaggeration. "I'm tired."
Giving a weird, satisfied little smile, Alice nodded. "Let's hit the road then. We'll stop really soon."
Feigning another yawn, Noah followed behind Cara out to the car.
Once everyone was in, Cara had her eyes shut as it began to move.
Pretending to be asleep, Noah closed his eyes, sure to keep them open a little bit, watching his mother out of the corner of his eye.
Seth found himself in Northern Tennessee. He had called Piper and when she asked what he wanted, "fucking Winchesters" was a good enough response for her to offer to meet her and Merrill. They had just finished a straightforward salt and burn and were planning their next move.
The three were sitting in lawn chairs, feet dipped in a cold creek that was located behind the motel they were staying at. All three were sipping beers—Merrill allowed to have a few following a successful hunt.
The aluminum can crunched as Merrill crushed it in her hand and tossed the trash into the cooler next to her.
Eyebrows appeared over the brim of Piper's sunglasses. "Slow down there. You know you only get two more."
Merrill sighed and wiped her eyes. "Well if you knew what was going on then maybe you'd understand." Although the words suggested her tone would be snotty, she actually sounded quite resigned.
Taking off her sunglasses Piper twisted towards her daughter. "What is it?"
Merrill looked at Seth, debating whether or not she should say in front of him. Eventually, it was determined he was probably going to find out anyway.
Reaching for her phone, Merrill passed it over to her mother, who took it, not knowing what to make of it. What teenager would willingly give their cell phone to their parent?
"Dad's been texting and calling me."
Hearing that name come from her daughter's mouth made Piper clench her teeth. It wasn't uncommon for Cliff to occasionally send Merrill a text or try to call her—even though she never answered. "And?"
Merrill took a shaky breath. "He keeps saying that I'm gonna go to Hell for what I've been doing—you know, hunting and all that. He keeps saying he wants me to come live with him—that he's gonna take you to court for custody, and that no judge will let you keep me. I know he says bullshit like that all the time, but he won't stop. And he sounds so serious this time."
Merrill looked at her mother. "He's really starting to scare me, Mom."
Lips thinning, Piper began to look through her daughter's phone. There were literally dozens of messages from Cliff. The voicemails only served to piss her off even further. He sounded like a fire and brimstone Puritan, spouting how Merrill's soul was in jeopardy and she was going to burn for an eternity.
"I'm gonna fucking kill him," Piper announced, standing up. Merrill's phone was launched into the water, with the assurance that Piper would get her the newest gadget, with a number that her father did not have.
"Piper, let's think rationally about this for a minute," Seth suggested. He had dealt with enough people lashing out in anger recently.
"You think Cliff telling his daughter she's going to Hell is rational? You think threatening to take my daughter away from me deserves a rational response?" Her face was turning visibly red.
"Come on, you know he's full of shit, Pipe."
"If Merrill wasn't so upset about this, than maybe I'd say that. But it's obviously bothering her. I mean look she's damn near crying."
Seth turned to his niece, and sure enough, there were tears loosely hanging to the corners of her eyes.
"Mer…" Seth began.
"He's not gonna bother you anymore. Not after I'm done with him," Piper vowed, already reaching for her keys.
"What are you gonna do?" Seth demanded.
"Are you good to watch her?" Piper asked her brother.
"Piper—Merrill?" Seth asked.
Merrill was too busy looking at her mother. "I don't ever wanna see him again."
That was all the conformation Piper needed
Lynch, Kentucky
"Honestly, people are trying to sleep," the woman muttered, tying the front of her floral robe. She pushed her shiny blonde hair behind her ears and squinted as she turned on the light to the foyer. Someone was on the other side of the door, banging relentlessly.
The woman unlatched the door and pulled it open, frozen at the visitor in front of her.
It was someone who looked just like her. A few inches taller, this woman was a bit thinner, with wiry, hardened muscle. Her hair was blonde, the roots revealing a dark brunette.
Unlike the blonde woman, this woman was dressed in cargo pants, work boots, and a thin long-sleeved shirt.
In one hand, she held a black-handled revolver.
"Piper—"
Pushing her way into the farmhouse, Piper tried to ignore the roiling in her stomach at seeing her sister. "Where is he?"
"What are you doing here?" Olivia asked, a hand pressed to her chest. She was more surprised by the appearance of her estranged sister than the gun.
"Where's your husband?" The word was dripping with acid.
Ignoring the gun, Olivia reached for Piper's shoulder. "Sorry, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Pushing her off, Piper held up the gun, aiming it in her sister's direction. In that moment, she didn't feel any familial connection to the woman in front of her.
Finally acknowledging the threat of the weapon, Olivia raised both hands. "Piper," she began slowly. "What are you doing here?"
"For the third fucking time, where is your husband?"
Olivia minutely glanced up the stairs. "I don't know. He might be at the church."
"Bullshit. It's the middle of the night. Let's try again. And this time? Don't you fucking lie to me, Olivia." Piper cocked her weapon.
Eyes widening, Olivia gulped. "He's not here. I swear he might be at the church."
"Really? Well then show me. Let's go take a look-see upstairs. Go on." Piper motioned up the stairs with her gun.
Turning slowly, hands raised, Olivia began to make her way up the stairs. When she reached her bedroom, she turned on the light, revealing an empty bed.
"He's not hiding anywhere. Is he?"
Olivia shook her head. "I told you. He's not here. He's at the church."
Piper chuckled dangerously. "Right. Like I have every reason to believe you. I mean, when have you ever lied to me?" Olivia turned about as white as the bedsheet but wisely didn't say anything.
"So he's at the church you said?"
Olivia nodded quickly.
"And where would that be?"
"Just down the road," Olivia said in a strangled voice. "Please just go," she begged.
The older sister laughed at that. "I bet that would be convenient for you, wouldn't it?"
"Piper, please."
"Don't. You don't get to ask me for a damn thing, Olivia."
Eyes blurring with tears, Olivia nodded quickly, making sure her hands were still in plain sight.
"I'll leave. But you're coming with me. If there's one thing I've learned having you for a sister, it's the fact you're a tattle tale. And I know as soon as I leave you're gonna call the police. So, let's go for a little midnight stroll instead. Go." Piper motioned towards the door.
Incredulous, Olivia looked down at herself. She was wearing a sheer nightgown with a thin robe. "I can't go out looking like this."
Piper couldn't help but roll her eyes, almost feeling like she was dealing with Olivia as a stuck-up teenager again. "Do I look like I fucking care?"
"Can I at least put shoes on?" Olivia asked in a small voice.
"No," Piper responded cruelly.
Realizing she didn't have a choice, Olivia stepped out of the house into the darkness. She felt micro splinters pierce the bottoms of her feet from the wooden planks of the porch.
"Where's this church?"
"Just down the road. Like I said."
"Lead the way. And I wouldn't try anything funny. I just shot a Caspar between the eyes not twelve hours ago. So I won't miss if you try to do something stupid."
The church wasn't far, like Olivia had said. But walking barefoot on a gravel road was agonizing. She was wincing, hissing, and limping after a few steps, but didn't stop, not knowing what Piper would do if she did. She knew was Piper was capable of.
"Why are you here?" Olivia finally had to ask.
"Look you're a home wrecking whore, but I know you're not stupid."
"You came to see Cliff. Why now?" Olivia clarified. She would've looked over her shoulder, but she knew she would've just seen the shine of the gun. Piper's marching steps behind her did not let her forget she was not alone.
"I have a message to give him."
Again, Olivia was about to ask, but the sight of the steepled structure in front of her created a swelling hope in her chest.
"Yeah this place looks about as ass backwards as I always imagined," Piper commented.
Olivia wisely bit her tongue.
When they reached the heavy wooden doors, Olivia turned to look at her sister. "He told me he was working late."
Piper didn't know what a pastor did to work late, and she didn't really care.
Olivia pushed open the heavy wooden door that led to the chapel.
Bathed in darkness, lit candles hanging from the ceiling created an eerie, undulating pattern of shadows, dancing along the curved walls.
Whispering a prayer under her breath, Olivia began to head down the aisle, grateful for the plush carpet beneath her bleeding feet. Her gaze went upwards to the magnificent crucifix set above the altar, forgetting for a moment a gun was held to her head.
Halfway up the aisle, Olivia recognized a familiar figure behind the altar. Cliff had his back turned to the aisle and was muttering softly under his breath.
Olivia frowned as she got closer, wondering why he had his back to the altar. That was something you were never supposed to do.
Once she got to the base of the steps, Olivia softly called his name. "Cliff?"
Jerking at the sound of his name, the man turned around on instinct, shocked to see his wife. All happening within several seconds he asked "Olivia? What are you doing here?" His gaze went to the woman standing behind her, "Piper?"
Olivia's frowned deepened. His top button was undone, pastor's collar flopping to one side. Her expression changed to horror, when a second later, a woman with mussed up hair popped up from behind the altar. She wore a lacy bra pushed under her exposed breasts. A hand was at her mouth, wiping something away.
The sound of Cliff zipping up his pants made Olivia's stomach do a flip.
"Cliff, what's going on?" There was a terrible tremor in her voice. "You-you told me were you working late."
"Olivia, I can explain. Just give me a chance to explain." He took a step sideways and began to walk towards her.
Olivia turned her attention to the woman, who was quietly buttoning up her dress. "Rebecca, how could you?"
Looking pretty unbothered, Rebecca smoothed down her hair. "Sorry, I should go." She disappeared around a side entrance, never seeing the gun Piper still held in her hand.
"You told me you were working late," Olivia repeated, unable to articulate any other thoughts.
Cliff took another step towards her. "Please, just give me a chance to—"
Olivia stepped backwards. "Is this what you've been doing every time you worked late?"
From the shadows, Piper had been stunned into silence. She had been that woman before. The one that had walked in on her husband with another woman. She was about ready to feel bad for her sister when Piper remembered Olivia had once been that other woman.
And now Olivia had been both women.
Rage growing at the hypocrisy of her ex-husband, Piper pushed past Olivia and shoved the gun in Cliff's neck. He made a pitiful groan. "I see you got yours," she growled lowly.
Piper felt the gun move slightly as Cliff swallowed. "Piper."
The woman felt herself begin to shake in anger. This was the man who dared called her daughter. "Listen, I'm gonna cut right to the chase. I know you've been harassing Merrill, telling her all this shit that she's going to Hell and that you're gonna take her from me. If you try to contact our daughter again, I am going to kill you. Never ever speak to Merrill again. Do you understand?"
Cliff was breathing loudly through his nose. "You know she'd be better off with me."
Eyes widening at the audacity of the man, Piper's vision went red. With a guttural howl, she pulled the gun back and cracked the weapon against his skull as hard as she could.
There was a cracking sound, and Cliff fell to the floor limp. Dark liquid was seeping from where she struck him.
"Cliff!" Olivia shrieked, momentarily forgetting what her husband had done. She bent down to him, hand hovering above the wound. She turned to look up at her sister, accusatory.
"He'll live," Piper responded, shoving the gun into the waistband of her pants. She turned.
"Wait. Wait! You're just gonna leave him like this?"
"Better than the alternative." Turning back around, Piper skirted around them and bent down to pick something up. Returning, she towered over Olivia and Cliff.
A swirl of emotions were running through Olivia. She stared up at her big sister.
Looking down at her little sister, Piper shook her head. "Now you know how it feels."
As she was about to turn to leave, Piper tossed a pair of flip-flops at Olivia. "Here. Dumb bitch forgot her shoes."
Turning her back on her sister and ex-husband, Piper left, knowing she was never going to see either of them ever again.
It had been several more days and Noah had not been able to reach a phone. When they weren't driving, they were eating in a diner. Cara continued to spiked drinks that were meant for Noah when it came up. However, Noah tried to not leave the table anymore during their meals. And when they were in the motel room, Noah was either pretending he was drugged or watching his mother out of the corner of his eye.
He couldn't remember the last time his mom had slept. She would sit in a chair near the front door, keys and phone huddled closely to her body, no chance of Noah snaking her cell or leaving the motel room without her knowing.
Evidentially the lack of sleep wasn't getting to Alice when early one morning she announced they would be leaving the motel they were at.
Also evidentially, the lack of sleep had finally gotten to Noah.
"No," he said, from where he was sitting on the bed. Cara sat on the other one, quietly watching a muted television.
Alice's eyebrows raised. "Excuse me?"
"I'm not leaving. Not until you tell me what's going on." Up until that point, he had tried to be covert. But not anymore.
"Yes you are," Alice shot back, voice low. "You're going to get in the car because I am your mother and you will listen to me."
Noah shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Not until you let me call Dad."
"You're not calling your father."
"Then I'm not leaving."
"Yes, you are Noah. If I have to drag you out of here kicking and screaming I will."
Noah defiantly crossed his arms. "Go ahead. I'll tell them you kidnapped us."
Reaching forward suddenly, Alice grabbed his arm roughly. "I have had it with your behavior. I'm trying to protect you. Why can't you see that?!"
Noah tried to rip his arm from her grasp. "I don't know what or who you are, but you are not my mother!"
Visibly wounded at that, Alice was devastated for a split second before she became enraged at Noah's increasing volume. Gripping him with one arm, she grabbed a rag from her back pocket and covered his nose and mouth.
Eyes widening at the powerful smell, Noah tried to remove the rag from his face, but Alice held it firmly in place, ignoring his thrashing body.
It seemed like several agonizing seconds for everyone in the room before Noah finally went limp.
Heaving a deep sigh, Alice carefully placed her unconscious son on the edge of the bed Cara was on.
Not saying anything to Cara, Alice grabbed all of the bags and opened the front door. She placed them in the trunk and then came back to pick up Noah. She glanced over at her daughter. "Cara, honey, I'm going to put your brother in the car and then check us out of the room. I'll come back to get you, okay?"
Cara nodded, still staring at the TV.
With Noah in tow, Alice shut the door, leaving Cara alone in the room.
Eyes moving from the TV, Cara's gaze lazily shifted around the room. Finally it landed on the nightstand between the beds.
There on the stand was a black flip phone.
Reaching for it, Cara flipped it open and stared at the call pad.
A few days later, the boys had made their way to Bobby's, and Dean was currently sitting behind the man's desk, dozing over a twelve inch pile of police reports on cars that matched the make, model, and color of Alice's.
They were nowhere closer to finding her or the kids. They had alerted a nationwide network of hunters to be on the lookout for them. Ellen had agreed to spread the word at the Roadhouse, to any other hunters that were passing through. Although still pissed, Seth and Piper agreed to be on the look-out as well.
On the verge of sleep, Dean was awoken by the shrill sound of his phone ringing.
Awake immediately, Dean answered before it could ring a second time. "Hello? Who is this?"
There was silence on the other end for several moments.
"I said who is this?" Dean asked in aggravation. He didn't have time for blank calls.
There was more silence and Dean was about to hang up until he heard a voice on the other end.
"Dad?"
If Dean hadn't been standing, he would've collapsed. "Cara?! Cara is that you?"
"Yeah, Dad. It's me."
A great deal of pressure that had been sitting on his chest suddenly lifted. It was Cara. She was alive and she was talking to him.
"Oh my God Cara. Thank God. Where are you?" If he could just find where she was and get to her everything would be okay.
There was another pause. "I don't know. Somewhere in Idaho I think." Her voice sounded faraway. A pang of worry went through Dean when he realized she still seemed to be in shock from the last demon encounter.
"Are you alone?"
"No. I'm with Mom and Noah."
"Where's your mother? I need to talk to her," Dean demanded. He was so grateful Cara was okay and she was with her mother and brother, but Dean needed to speak to Alice. She needed to explain what the hell was going on.
"She's putting Noah in the car."
"Putting him in the car?" Dean couldn't remember the last time Alice had carried Noah anywhere. "What's wrong with him?"
"She made him sleep again. She's acting weird."
That made Dean's blood run cold.
She's been acting weird.
She made him sleep again.
He felt his skin crawl.
"Cara, have you seen Mom touch silver, iron, salt, or holy water?"
"Yeah. She's not possessed. Noah already tested her."
Dean gripped the phone tighter. Something was seriously wrong and it seemed like Noah knew it too.
"Let me talk to her."
"I can't," Cara said. "She's gonna be mad that she found out I called you. Noah wanted to and she made him sleep."
"What do you mean sleep?"
"She was putting these pills in our food. It made us sleep. But this time she held this rag to his face. It made him faint."
Blood pressure rising, Dean's breath began to hitch, once again beginning to realize that even though his children were with their mother, they were apparently still in danger.
"Where in Idaho are you?"
"I shouldn't have called you," Cara suddenly said. "Mom's gonna be mad," she repeated.
Realizing she was about to hang up, Dean tried to his best to stop her. "No. It's good you called me. Okay? Now where in Idaho are you?" He asked urgently.
"I don't know. We're at a motel."
"Do you know what the name of the motel is?"
There was the sound of rustling on the line. "I found a notepad with the name. It's called the Konkolville Motel. And oh it says the name of the town."
"What's the name of the motel honey?" He was trying to stay calm for her sake, but internally he was losing it.
It's Konkolville. Do you want me to spell it?"
"Go ahead."
"It's K-O-N-K-O-L-V-I-L-L-E."
"And what's the name of the town?"
"Oh it's Orofino."
"Orofino, Idaho," Dean muttered to himself, standing in front of an atlas Bobby had pinned to the wall.
"Do you want me to spell it?"
"No that's okay," Dean said, finger landing on the small town. He cursed under his breath. It was in Western Idaho, damn near in Washington. It was gonna be at least an eighteen hour drive from Sioux Falls.
"Cara? You did a really good job telling me where you are. Listen to me, I want you to delete this call from the phone so that Mom doesn't find out. Do you understand?"
"You want me to lie to Mom?"
"It's not lying. Like you said, she'd be mad. I don't want her to be mad at you."
"Oh right…Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I think we're leaving soon and I don't know where we're gonna go next."
Panic shuddered through Dean. "It's okay. I have the number to this phone. That means I can find you."
"I wanna go home." Hearing that felt like someone had taken a club to Dean's heart.
"You will, Cara. I'm gonna come get you, okay?"
"Okay. I think I have to go. Mom's coming back."
"Remember to delete this call. And listen to me Cara: I love you and I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Okay. Bye Dad."
The line went dead.
Clenching the phone tightly in his hand, Dean started at Orofino, Idaho.
Nothing was gonna stop him from getting his kids back.
Cara deleted the number and put the phone back to where it was on the nightstand. She sat back on the bed.
The door opened and Alice came back into the room sighing. "We're all checked out. Ready to go?"
Nodding wordlessly, Cara hopped off the bed as Alice grabbed her cell phone, putting it in her pocket.
Cara followed Alice out of the room, the woman believing she was untraceable.
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